In France :

• Villa Swagatam strengthens its engagement with contemporary artistic experimentation through new collaborations with the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon (macLYON), which will host a residency centred on ceramics at the crossroads of art and technique, and the Fondation Thalie in Arles, internationally recognised for its pioneering work in biodesign and sustainable creative practices.
• This edition also marks the launch of its first literary residency on the island of La Réunion, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean with deep historical and cultural connections with India. The residency is hosted by Banyan - Centre d’art contemporain de la Cité des Arts de La Réunion and Lerka (an experimental space for contemporary artistic research and creation), and will host an Indian author whose project explores and reactivates these enduring ties.
• For this edition, Villa Swagatam is also introducing its first research residency in collaboration with the Institut d’études avancées de Nantes, inviting Indian scholars, thinkers and researchers to propose a project at the intersection of the humanities, new imagineries, and contemporary global challenges.

In South Asia :

• Villa Swagatam continues to explore the dialogue between tradition and innovation through a new partnership with StoneX Global, offering a residency anchored in stone and marble, materials that carry both architectural memory and contemporary sculptural potential.
• A new literary residency is also being launched in New Delhi with Red House, a family-run cultural centre housed in a repurposed industrial site, emblematic of the capital’s evolving creative scene.
• Continuing its spirit of expansion to residencies in South Asia, for the first time, Villa Swagatam extends its network to Bhutan. VAST Bhutan will welcome a graphic novelist invited to engage with the country’s social, cultural, and ecological landscapes.
• Further, in Bangladesh, the programme welcomes the Cosmos Foundation, opening access to a rich and dynamic ecosystem of crafts, where artisanal knowledge and contemporary creation intersect.

Finally, this edition introduces an ambitious new format: the Itinerant literary residency. Conceived as a curated, multi-sited journey, it will offer one resident the opportunity to develop a project across four to six cities in India, engaging with a range of contexts, collaborators, and publics. This experimental format reflects Villa Swagatam’s commitment to rethinking residency models, privileging movement, immersion, and the multiplicity of perspectives over a single fixed location.

With these new directions, Villa Swagatam reaffirms its role as a laboratory for contemporary creation, one that not only accompanies artistic and literary practices, but actively reshapes the geographies and modalities of cultural exchange.

This announcement marks Villa Swagatam’s flagship annual call for applications, but the programme will keep on including other curated collaborations and initiatives across the year, reflecting the dynamic of the India France Year of Innovation and opening up other original opportunities for creators across the two regions.